Noon briefing of 4 April 2016

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING BY STEPHANE DUJARRIC, SPOKESMAN FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

MONDAY, 4 APRIL 2016

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO TRAVEL TO CALIFORNIA AND GENEVA

• The Secretary-General will depart New York for Los Angeles on 5 April.
• In Los Angeles, he is scheduled to attend various events, including those organized by the World Affairs Council and Loyola Marymount University.
• On 6 April, the Secretary-General is expected to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from the University as well as participate in the ECO:nomics Summit, which will bring together a diverse group of global CEOs, entrepreneurs, environmental experts and policy makers to discuss energy policy, sustainability and climate change.
• On 7 April, the Secretary will depart Los Angeles for Geneva, Switzerland, where he will take part in the high-level segment of the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism at the Palais de Nations on 8 April. At 1 p.m. that day, the Secretary-General and Mr. Didier Burkhalter, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, are expected to speak to the media.
• The Conference, co-organized by the United Nations and the Government of Switzerland, will provide an opportunity for the international community to share experiences and good practices in addressing the drivers of violent extremism and to build support for the Secretary-General’s Plan of Action.

WORLD HUMANITARIAN SUMMIT TO GENERATE MOMENTUM FOR CHANGE - SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS MEMBER STATES

• The Secretary-General spoke to the Member States about the preparations for the World Humanitarian Summit that is to take place next month in Turkey.
• The Secretary-General said that, during the past three years, we have greatly benefitted from the engagement and contributions of Member States and other stakeholders to advance the World Humanitarian Summit process.
• He underlined that the Summit is a unique opportunity to generate the momentum for change and send a message of solidarity and support to the 125 million people in immediate crisis.

NAGORNO-KARABAKH: SECRETARY-GENERAL DEEPYLY CONCERNED OVER REPORTS OF CEASEFIRE VIOLATIONS

• In a statement issued on 2 April, the Secretary-General expressed deep concern over the reported use of heavy weapons and by the large numbers of casualties, including among the civilian population.
• The Secretary-General urged all relevant parties to put an immediate end to the fighting, fully respect the ceasefire agreement and take urgent steps to de-escalate the situation.
• He reiterated his full support for the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and all parties working to resolve this dangerous situation and pursue a peaceful negotiated settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
• The United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that there were at least 33 fatalities during the flare-up of hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone on April 2.
• The agency said that there have been no reports of population movement in the conflict-affected areas.
• OCHA warns that except for the International Committee of the Red Cross, international humanitarian actors cannot access Nagorno-Karabakh and that the limitations of in-country emergency stocks in both Armenia and Azerbaijan would impede timely humanitarian assistance in case of sustained hostilities.

· U.N. CONTINUES TO GATHER INFORMATION ON ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE IN CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

• A joint team led by the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative, Diane Corner, and comprising of representatives from United Nations agencies and the Conduct and Discipline team travelled on 4 April for the second time to Kemo prefecture as part of the information gathering and fact-finding mission announced last week. They also met with a number of relevant local actors on the ground.
• Joint investigations with the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and concerned troop contributing countries (TCCs) are expected to be launched in the next few days.
• In addition, the Secretary-General9;s Special Coordinator on improving United Nations Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, Jane Holl Lute, will travel to the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo and in the next days. This is her first field visit to peacekeeping operations since her appointment on 1 March.

D.R. CONGO: U.N. MISSION RECEIVES SEXUAL EXPLOITATION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST TANZANIAN CONTINGENT MEMBERS

• Over the weekend, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) announced that it had received allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by members of the Tanzanian contingent of the Mission’s Force Intervention Brigade in Mavivi village, in the Eastern part of the country.
• According to preliminary information, there are 11 allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse against the Tanzanian contingent in the area, all involving paternity claims.
• Four of these allegations are linked to the current contingent while the rest are linked to the previous one.
• The Tanzanian Battalion Commander has detained implicated contingent members in the base camp awaiting further investigation.
• Additionally, troops have been confined to the base camp.

IRAQ: HUMANITARIAN WORKERS PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO DISPLACED PEOPLE FROM MAKHMOUR DISTRICT

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that, since 24 March, more than 2,200 people have been displaced by military operations in villages in the Makhmour district of Iraq’s Erbil Governorate, which is on the edge of Mosul.
• The displaced were initially accommodated in Makhmour town. However, ongoing security threats prompted their relocation further away from military frontlines to the Debaga IDP camp on 1 April. The majority of the displaced are women and children.
• Humanitarian workers have distributed ready-to-eat food, clean water and basic household items, as well as clothes, as people fled with very few belongings. Medical assistance is being provided by the Iraqi Department of Health through four medical teams and two mobile clinics.
• Humanitarian groups are working with local authorities to set up additional emergency shelters for the newly displaced, as well as to identify space for new transit sites, as more people could be displaced by ongoing insecurity in Makhmour district.

U.N. WORKS WITH ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN GOVERNMENTS TO PREVENT INCIDENTS LEADING TO FURTHER SUSPENSION OF IMPORTS

• Nickolay Mladenov, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said on 4 April that the United Nations has been informed by Israel of its decision to suspend the private import of cement into Gaza, following allegations that a substantial amount had been diverted from its intended legitimate beneficiaries.
• He said that the United Nations is working closely with its Palestinian and Israeli Government counterparts to assist in resolving the situation in order to prevent incidents that could lead to any future suspension of imports.
• Mr. Mladenov said that those who seek to gain through the deviation of materials are stealing from their own people and adding to the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza.
• The reconstruction of Gaza remains critical to ensuring its stability and he urges a rapid resolution of this matter.

U.N. CALLS FOR FACILITATION OF MEDICAL EVACUATIONS IN SYRIA

• The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the reported tragic death of a young Syrian man in Madaya is yet another sad event where medical evacuations have not been available for those in need.
• His death comes less than a week after three children in Bukkin in northern Madaya died after being injured by a landmine, as evacuations were not facilitated.
• The UN called on all parties to the conflict to facilitate medical evacuation of the sick and wounded in a timely and systematic manner everywhere in Syria.
• Similarly, the UN called on all parties, particularly the Syrian authorities, to allow for all necessary medical items and equipment, including surgical items, to be allowed onto the convoys.

WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME TO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE IN UKRAINE, LEBANON

• The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it aims to reach 270,000 of the most vulnerable people in eastern Ukraine with monthly food assistance over the first half of this year.
• WFP said that the two-year long conflict in eastern Ukraine has left 1.5 million people hungry, including 300,000 who are in need of immediate food assistance.
• In Lebanon, WFP has launched a school meals programme, which supports both Lebanese and Syrian children attending public schools. The meals include milk, juice, snacks and fruit.
• Every month, WFP assists 600,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Lebanon through food vouchers so they can purchase food from local markets.
• Since 2013, WFP injected almost US$600 million into the Lebanese economy.

PARTIES TO MONTREAL PROTOCOL GATHER IN GENEVA TO DISCUSS HYDROFLUOROCARBONS

• The 197 parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer 37^th, assembled in Geneva on 4 April to negotiate an amendment to the Protocol to govern the phase down of potent greenhouse gases - the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
• HFCs are chemicals used in air conditioning, refrigeration, foams and aerosols as replacements for many ozone-depleting substances that are being phased out under the Montreal Protocol.
• An amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down HFCs would avoid estimated emissions of up to 105 gigatonnes (billion tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, and up to 0.4°C of global warming by the end of the century.

ORIGINAL LANDSCAPING ON NORTH LAWN TO BE RESTORED BY SEPTEMBER

• The last parts of the North Lawn Building have been dismantled on schedule.
• The next step towards the restoration of the North Lawn will be the demolition of the underlying concrete slab.
• The refurbished sculptures are scheduled to be returned to their former locations by mid-August and 197 new trees will be planted, in place of the 110 trees that had to be removed during the Capital Master Plan.
• By September, the original landscaping of the North Lawn will be restored.

***The guests at the noon briefing were the Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), Agnès Marcaillou, and the United Nations Global Advocate for the Elimination of Mines and Explosive Hazards, Daniel Craig.***